


Never Say It'll Be the Best Christmas Ever

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Christmas Sweets [15]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Angst and Humor, Christmas disasters, F/M, Long delayed Christmas fluff, Love, Romance, Tentoo and Rose's first Christmas in Pete's World, dw secret santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 01:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17478962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: Feeling guilty that Rose has lost her prime universe Christmas  decorations and Christmas traditions because of him, the Doctor strives to make their first Christmas in Pete's World the best Christmas Ever.  A DW Secret Santa gift.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EmKayWho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmKayWho/gifts).



> This is the long delayed DW Secret Santa gift for EmKayWho. I have started and deleted this story so many times. It's been a tough one, and I have to thanks some people who helped me get this one off the ground. TenRoseForeverandever did a wonderful job as a beta reader and help me get this out today. Rose--Nebula read it over and gave me many helpful suggestions and helped me focus my ideas. Skyler10 also helped with suggestions, along with Hanluvr and memyselfandwe. I was in a panic and our group chat helped!  
> EmKayWho, I truly apologize for the lateness!

“Oi, you two!  Stop moonin’ at each other long enough to help me out!” Jackie demanded as she entered the lounge, precariously balancing two plastic totes.  The Doctor rolled his eyes and hopped up to help her. He didn’t know why she was complaining. After all, he’d just  _ stopped _ kissing Rose in front of her parents’ undecorated Christmas tree.  He relieved her of the top box. Chuckling, Rose took the other box and immediately sat down to open it.

 

“Oh, Mum!’  she called out, holding out a teardrop shaped, pink ornament.  “Look at this, Doctor.” She turned the ornament around to show the Doctor her name had been painted on it, along with her birthdate.  He took it from her. Gazing at it, he gently traced the glitter that formed Rose’s name with his finger. 

 

“When we lived in the old universe, we never had the money for anythin’ fancy, but one year, I splurged on a box of baubles and some craft paint.  Rose painted some ornaments with me. We were tired of paper chains and snowflakes,” Jackie remininsed, beaming.

 

Rose smiled back.  “My ornaments were a right mess, but we thought our tree was absolutely brilliant.”

 

“They were beautiful, sweetheart,” Jackie told her.   

 

It was a sweet story, to be sure, but the Doctor’s eyebrow raised in question.  “Surely this can’t be the same ornament from the prime universe, though,” he pointed out.  

 

Jackie argued,  “Yes, it is. I kept it in my pocket all year round.”  Then she burst into laughter. The Doctor recognized that laugh.  It was the one she used when she was amused at his expense. “Nah, you plum, I bought a similar one here.  Now that’s a tale. So, it was our first Christmas here, and I was out shoppin’, all pregnant and emotional.  Rose was off on one of those dimension hops, so I was all alone. I went into a shop, and there was this lovely shopgirl there.  Name was Caitlin, I think… Or was is Caitriona? No, had to be Caitlin, Caitriona’s too unusual. I would have…”

 

The Doctor’s eyes glazed over as she debated Caitlin versus Caitriona, and Rose stepped in.  “Anyway… Mum found this ornament on one of the shop Christmas trees. It’s fairly identical to the one we left behind…”

 

“And I burst into tears.  Right there, in the middle of the shop.  I was blubbin’. Well, I couldn’t tell her that I’d left all my Christmas decorations on a council estate in a different bloomin’ universe so I suppose I made up some hard-luck story on the spot or blamed it on my hormones… and we started chattin’.  Such a sweet girl, she was. Got me tea and everything… And here’s the miracle. She had the rest of the set. That’s when I knew it’d be okay, livin’ here. I knew we’d get through all the changes. So, I bought ‘em. I painted the one for Rose, like it was before.  I didn’t know if she’d survive all those bleedin’ dimension hops to see it, but she did.” Jackie’s voice broke a bit on the last.

 

The Doctor watched as Rose stood up and embraced her mother.   With his own feelings threatening to overwhelm him, it quickly became difficult to witness the emotional scene. He diverted his attention to the pink bauble he still held.  He had heard the certainty in Jackie’s words, and tried to take them to heart.   But his Time Lord brain, which was every bit as brilliant and traitorous as it had been before the metacrisis, couldn’t stop ruminating on the fact that  _ he _ was the reason they’d lost it all.  If he’d just kept them away from Canary Wharf.  If he’d been able to do more than just burn up that sun to say goodbye.  If he’d…

 

“Doctor, you here with us?” Rose asked, her face lined with concern.  

 

He startled, then smiled up at her.  She raised an eyebrow and he knew his Rose well enough to understand that she knew the smile wasn’t real.  

 

"Oh, look at this," Jackie announced, her voice diverting Rose's attention to the photo frame ornament of an infant she held up. "Tony's chubby little cheeks.  P oor thing’s head was so big it took him forever to sit up on his own.  Gets that from his father’s side, he does. This is one thing I do miss so much.  I don’t have any of Rose’s baby pictures anymore. But, at least I have my baby.” She drew Rose in for another hug.

 

Jackie’s comment did nothing to raise the Doctor’s spirits. 

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Jackie whitter away about their family Christmas traditions as Rose chimed in with her favorite memories.  He heard about how they would ice skate and bake cookies and go caroling. And through it all, the Doctor wondered how he could ever recreate that for the woman he loved with all his heart.

 

After they’d decorated the tree and shared shepherd’s pie with the Tylers, Rose and the Doctor walked through the garden to their cottage at the other end of Pete and Jackie’s property.  Rose had used the little cottage as a home base when she had been dimension hopping. She’d never expected to come back to it after finding the Doctor. But now, it was theirs. They had made it their cozy home, but their TARDIS was growing in a tank in the spare bedroom, and they both hoped that eventually, the cottage would become just a home base again.  

 

_ Someday,  _ the Doctor thought.  It was easier for him to contemplate traveling than dwell on of everything that Rose had lost in the fall to this universe.

 

“Penny for ‘em,” Rose murmured as they walked through the cold darkness hand in hand.  

 

“For what?” 

 

“You were quiet tonight,” Rose pointed out.

 

“Well, you know how hard it is to get in a word edgewise when your mum is talking…”

 

Rose sighed, her breath visible in the frigid night air.  “You know what I mean. So… was it too domestic tonight?” She mumbled the last.  The Doctor stopped walking abruptly, and Rose followed suit a step later.

 

“Rose Tyler, I can’t believe you just said that!  _ No _ , it was not  _ too domestic _ .  We have this one life together, and I can’t imagine anything better than to be domestic with you!”  He took her other hand in his. “Surely you can’t still be worried about that.” 

 

Rose averted her eyes.  She shrugged, and finally said, “I’m not as worried as I was when we first got here.  Really, I’m not. But there’s this nagging voice in my head that wonders sometimes…”

 

The Doctor let go of her hand and cupped her cheek.  “Well, you don’t have to worry. Better with two, remember?”

 

Rose gave him a small smile and nodded.  “Then why were you so quiet? There was something bothering you.  I know it.”

 

It was the Doctor’s turn to avert his eyes.  “I… was listening to you talk about all those wonderful Christmas memories… and all I could think of was that you would still have those traditions if you were back in the prime universe.  If I hadn’t happened along to interfere…”

 

“Doctor,” Rose interrupted.  “Now  _ I _ can’t believe you just said  _ that _ .  Doctor, I love you.  I don’t want to be anywhere that you, _ this you _ , isn’t.  We can make our own Christmas traditions together.  It can be better than ever. Were you not just saying  _ better with two _ ?”

 

He locked eyes with her, and beamed.  Her words had warmed him from head to toe and given him the most brilliant idea.  He was fairly bursting with how brilliant it would be. “Oh, yes, Rose Tyler, I did say that!  And you’re right, we can make our  _ own _ brilliant traditions.  It’ll be the best…” He was surprised by her fingers on his lips.

 

“Never say it’ll be the best–”

 

Around her fingers he asserted, “...Christmas ever!”  He pulled her fingers away. “Why not?”

 

“Because if it’s not up to your lofty expectations, you’ll feel like you’ve failed.  And also because they say it on every cheesy Christmas television special!” Rose laughed.

 

“There’s something to be said for cheese, Rose Tyler!”  She squealed with laughter as he scooped her up and spun her around.  “And this Christmas, my love, will be fantastic. The  _ best _ ever!”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phase one of the Doctor's Best Christmas Ever plan goes into effect. It does not go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to TenRoseForeverandever for helping me with this story!

Rose left Torchwood exhausted as the sun dipped below the horizon.  It had been a bit of a day, dealing with an Artraxian spice freighter.  The nervous new pilot had unwittingly flown into Earth’s atmosphere, tangled with a satellite, and crashed close to Stonehenge.  Jake and Rose had helped guide a repair vessel into the area. The Doctor would have loved it, had he been there. But he hadn’t been.  He had unexpectedly chosen to work from home on this cold December day, and Rose hadn’t been able to contact him. 

 

_ Don’t you worry, Rose Tyler.  I’m feeling well. I just have some work to do around here.  I’ll be in touch,  _ he had texted as she rode back to Torchwood with her team.  

 

Pete had informed her that the Doctor had been hanging around the Tyler mansion kitchen, quizzing Jackie, as he had been leaving for work.   Knowing the Doctor was still obsessed with his Best Christmas Ever Plan, Rose assumed he had recruited her mum to take part in his scheme and had mentally prepared herself for anything.  

 

Well, almost anything.  

 

She certainly hadn’t expected to see a fire engine leaving the Tyler property. 

 

Turning left into the drive as the rescue vehicle pulled away, Rose grabbed for her phone with one hand as she passed the main house.  It looked normal, with the fairy lights from one of the Christmas trees shining in the foyer window.  _ So if it wasn’t at the mansion then it…  _ “Oh God,” she muttered out loud as she turned towards her own driveway.  She saw her mother trudging towards the house. Rose slammed her brakes and threw the car into park.  “Mum! What’s happened?”

 

“Talk to him,” Jackie said through clenched teeth, nodding back towards the cottage.  Rose’s jaw dropped. “Oh, he’s fine. Your kitchen, on the other hand…” 

 

“Blimey,” Rose breathed, shifting back into drive and accelerating towards their house.

 

“Call me later!” Jackie yelled over her shoulder.  

 

When Rose arrived at the cottage, the first thing she noticed was that the front windows were open and the door was half ajar.  She exited the car, forgetting her purse in her haste to get inside. “Doctor?” She called out. The lounge was dark, and the whole lower floor reeked of smoke.  Their Christmas tree was dark in the corner. Since their downstairs was an open plan design, she could see the charred mess that was their oven from the middle of the room.  A fan had been set in the kitchen window, trying to draw the odor out, but it clearly wasn’t up to the task. “Doctor, where are you!”  _ Mum said he was fine but what if something happened to him after she left?  _

 

Rose gasped out her relief to see him coming out of the back shed, where they kept the TARDIS during warmer weather.  She burst through the back French doors to meet him in the yard. 

 

His shoulders drooped as soon as he saw her.  “I was hoping I’d get this cleaned up before you arrived,” he murmured as Rose threw her arms around his neck, pulling him to her in a thankful embrace.  “Just wanted to get the TARDIS into some cleaner air.”

 

“Are you okay?  What happened?” Rose asked. 

 

“Was tryin’ to… erm… bake cookies.”

 

That explained the destruction of their oven, but it still was not quite what Rose had expected to hear.  “Cookies did  _ that?”  _  She pointed her thumb back at the house.  

 

“The oven…” he began, then he sighed.  “Might as well just tell you. I  _ could _ say the oven had a major malfunction but that wouldn’t be the truth.  Your mother saw most of it. Surprised she didn’t tell you.”

 

“She didn’t tell me anythin’ other than that you were okay.”

 

The Doctor shivered and she realized he’d come outside without his pinstriped suit jacket.  She took his hand and lead him back into their cottage. Both of them scrunched their noses at the smoky odor, as he led her over to their destroyed oven.  

 

“Tell me what happened.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

 

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes downcast.  Even his hair seemed defeated, his fringe drooping in his eyes.  It hurt Rose to see him so upset, even if she was anxious to get to the bottom of the kitchen disaster.  Finally he spoke softly, “I wanted to bake you cookies. Most importantly, I wanted you to walk through that door after your long day at work and  _ smell _ them baking.  Your mum told me that whenever she’d bake cookies from scratch at Christmas you’d always tell her that the whole flat smelled like…”

 

“Love,” Rose finished for him.  The Doctor nodded. 

 

“Doesn’t exactly smell like it now, but that’s the effect I was trying for.  I got the recipe from your mum this morning. Of course, it was just an approximation since she doesn’t have her recipe book anymore, but that’s not what immolated the oven.. obviously.”  He ran his hand through his disheveled hair. ”I had a batch already baked but they weren’t right. So I went out to get more ingredients to try again. The shops were absolutely mad this afternoon.  So by the time I got home again, you’d texted me and I’d texted you and I knew you’d be home soon.” He tugged at his ear.

 

“Then what happened?” Rose prompted.   

 

He averted his eyes. “I sonicked the oven when it was time for them to go in.  I wanted to have one batch done while the other baked. Time was of the essence and our little TARDIS isn’t mature enough to accelerate the cooking.  Rose, I did not expect the oven to ignite, or the ball of flame…”

 

Rose followed his gaze to the charred underside of the kitchen island across from the oven.  “Blimey,” she murmured. 

 

“Jackie stopped by just then, to see how I was getting on. Of course, she was right on time for the pyrotechnics.  I could’ve handled it but she insisted on dialing 999. They were quite quick about getting here, though. I will give them that.  At any rate, I did have it all under control by the time they arrived. Just got a bit…” He coughed. “Smoky.”

 

“Are you sure you shouldn’t see someone for smoke inhalation?”  Rose pondered. 

 

He protested, “Oh, I’m all right.”  

 

Rose arched a critical eyebrow at him.

 

“Look, the rescue personnel said I was fine. Oh, c’mon, Rose. You know me. I’m always all right.”

 

“You forget,” Rose admonished, giving his arm an affectionate rub, “you’re a bit more… human now.”

 

“Pfft, I’ll be fine.  _ Everything _ will be fine in just a mo. Pete should be here soon with some large fans to help with the smoke.  We’ll be back to normal in a jiffy.”

 

Rose gazed at the charred lump of oven, and choked slightly on the smell in the room.  Her eyes watered. “Doctor, we’re  _ not _ sleepin’ here tonight.  It’ll be too cold with the windows open.  And we’re probably gonna have to wash all our clothes to get the odor out.  C’mon, let’s head upstairs and pack. Mum and Dad can put us up for the night.”  She took a few steps away, expecting him to follow. When he didn’t, she stopped to look back at him.  “Doctor?” 

 

He was staring at the disaster, his shoulders slumped, frowning.  Her heart went out to him. She couldn’t be angry with him, despite the mess. 

 

She returned to him.  Kissing him softly, she took his hand and coaxed him to follow her.  “C’mon, love,” she urged. “Best get at it.”

 

His shoulders drooped even further as he mumbled,  “Sorry. I’m so sorry about this. Don’t know what I was thinking,” he murmured.  

 

She squeezed his hand, smiling.  “You were thinkin’ you wanted to do something special for us.  You just got a little… impatient.” They mounted the steps to their loft bedroom.  It smelled worse the higher they went. 

 

“Smoke detectors worked,” he muttered, looking so defeated that Rose had to hug him again.  

 

After a second embrace they entered their room and Rose had to fight the urge to groan at prospect of all the laundry they had to do.  “Did you throw away that first batch of cookies?” she asked, trying to take her mind off the task at hand. 

 

“No, I didn’t.  Well, at least I don’t think I did… I’ve been a bit busy, you know.”

 

“Well, if you didn’t, I want to try one of them,” she announced.

 

“Why on Clom would you want to do that?” he blurted.

 

“Because you tried for me, no matter how badly it all turned out.” She smiled.  Before they could embrace again, they were both taken with coughing fits. They thought it best to pack quickly and tossed their clothes into plastic garbage bags.  They made several trips with all their belongings to the utility room at the back of the mansion. On their final trip, Rose gathered up the Doctor’s first batch of cookies, while he brought the TARDIS from the shed.

 

Later on at the Tyler mansion, while Jackie regaled the family with the tale of the conflagration, making it more spectacular the longer she spoke, Rose sampled one of the cookies.

 

“What do you think?” the Doctor whispered, ignoring Jackie.  

 

“They’re not bad, Doctor,” Rose told him.  His eyebrow raised skeptically. “No, really!  They’re... different but they’re good. And they were made with love.  _ And _ you didn’t completely burn the house down.  How could I complain?”

 

For the first time all evening the Doctor perked up. “So, I managed to recreate… so to speak, one of your Christmas memories?”

 

“More or less.  There  _ was _ that one time Mum burned a batch and the kitchen reeked of smoke for–”

 

“I heard that, Madam,” Jackie groused.  They chuckled, much to Jackie’s apparent disgruntlement.  They heard her mutter something about how Rose wasn’t too old for a smack.

 

“Well, Rose Tyler, I might have been met with an unexpected… erm… roadblock with this particular Christmas tradition.  But that doesn’t mean Operation Best Christmas Ever is a total flop.” 

 

Rose drew in a deep breath. While she was relieved to see the Doctor’s mood improve, she still couldn’t help but be wary of what he was planning next.  “Doctor, you know you don’t have to prove anythin’ to me. Anythin’ we do together will be fantastic because it’s you n’ me, not because it’s some big to-do.”

 

“Well,” he drawled, “what if I want to give you a big to-do.  I have the most brilliant plan, and you’re gonna love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter to this little story.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose make memories at an ice rink. (Will they be the kind of memories they want to remember?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much, TenRoseForeverandever for your beta help!

The Doctor hadn’t just asked for a recipe when he’d quizzed Jackie the morning of the cookie disaster.  He had wanted to know everything Rose had loved about Christmas as a kid, and armed with that information, he’d made more plans.  Sure, the cookies had been a setback. He was relieved that Rose didn’t seem to be disappointed with him, despite being out of their home for two days while it was cleaned and repaired.  And, after the literal, and proverbial, smoke cleared, the Doctor was eager to act on phase two of the Best Christmas Ever. 

 

Jackie had informed him, while passing on the cookie recipe, that ice skating was something the pair of them had enjoyed during the holidays.  “Cousin Mo always took us from the time Rose was three. She always had to treat us, ‘cos, of course I couldn’t afford the skate rental. Last time we went was the Christmas Rose was fifteen.”  Upon hearing Jackie’s revelation, the Doctor had decided that Rose needed to get back out on the ice. He’d watched a few of those cheesy holiday movies for inspiration and the potential for romance while skating was not lost on him.

 

So, as they were leaving work on the Friday before Christmas, he had hinted heavily that she should change into warm clothes for their date night.  

 

“So…” she bumped him with her shoulder, “do tell, what are we doing?  Stargazin’ with the telescope in the back garden?”

 

The Doctor had filed that idea away for a potential Best New Year’s Eve Ever, and smirked.  “Nope! It’s a surprise,” he’d told her, arching his eyebrow mischievously.

 

“You’re infuriatin’,” she’d smiled as she reeled him in for a kiss. 

 

****

 

The Doctor was shutting down his computer in their newly freshened and repaired kitchen when Rose appeared, fetchingly dressed in jeans and a black and pink flannel shirt.  She’d topped the shirt with a black v-neck jumper that reminded them both of the days when he had had blue eyes and big ears. “You’re gorgeous,” he told her. 

 

She gave him _ that _ smile and asked,  “What are you up to?” she asked.

 

The Doctor frowned a bit.  He had been trying to make a playlist of Rose’s favorite Christmas music.  But even that hadn’t been as easy as it should have been. The strange tasting eggs and the zeppelins in the sky weren’t the only differences between Pete’s World and the prime universe.  They’d managed to keep the Beatles alive and together as a band, but the price for that was apparently several of Rose’s favorite Christmas songs. He’d discovered about half of them didn’t even exist in their universe.  

 

The disappointment over the Christmas playlist faded as he imagined how this evening would go.   _ Not gonna deny that I hope tonight’s activities are followed by other… activities… once we get home.  This is gonna be brilliant!  _  “Are you ready for some adventure?” he asked.

 

“Always,” she assured him. “I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me tonight!”

“Then...” he hopped up from his chair to kiss her soundly, “...allons-y!”

 

****

 

“Blimey, I can’t believe how brilliant this is!” Rose enthused as they walked hand in hand through the Hyde Park vendor stalls.  “It’s freezin’ but it’s cozy all at the same time!”

 

He grinned from ear to ear at her declaration.  “It’s always cozier with you.”

 

“Thank you for this.  I love it. I hope we can do this every year.”  She kissed him softly.

 

“That’s a date, then.  Our new tradition.”

 

“Perfect,” she smiled.  “This place is amazin’. I never noticed.”  Rose gazed around at the scene, and he gazed at her, loving the way the reflection of the fairy lights sparkled in her eyes.  The scent of mulled wine and baked goods wafted through the air. “I was always too busy with the dimension hops to explore London at Christmas.  And you weren’t with me, so…”

 

The Doctor squeezed her hand.  “I am now.”

 

Rose kissed him again, not as softly this time.  When they emerged, breathless, she suggested, “Let’s do a few turns around the rink, then warm up with some wine.  And then...”   
  
“Go home and warm up?” he asked hopefully.

 

“Oh, yes!” She laughed.

 

****

After visiting a skate rental stall, they took to the ice.  “Gonna have to warm up a bit,” Rose laughed as she wobbled. “Haven’t done this since… I don’t know when.”  They grasped hands as they ventured out onto the slick surface.

 

“You were fifteen,” the Doctor told her, and her eyebrow raised.  “Your mum mentioned it.” He tripped over a groove in the ice, his free arm flailing, as he barely remained upright.  “Well,” he hedged, “I suspect I’m not as steady on the ice this go around.” Rose tightened his grip on his hand as he stumbled again.  “I’ll be fine. Just have to get used to these part-human legs.”

 

“Then we’ll wobble together,” Rose reassured him.  Her tongue-touched smile made him grin, and his sudden bout of insecurity was forgotten.  They took a tentative step forward together, and when they didn’t crash, they laughed and continued on. 

 

After a couple of wobbly turns around the rink they found their legs and gained a lot of confidence, giggling with joy.    _ All I Want for Christmas is You _ played, and Rose sang along.  The Doctor realized the unfamiliar lyrics were another example of a difference between the universes, but he didn’t mind.  His Rose was singing to him. He was enraptured by her voice.

 

Unable to take his eyes off her, he didn’t notice the boys skating by, far too fast for the rest of the crowd, until they cut him off.  Rose stopped singing and yelled, “Watch out!” The Doctor evaded the young scoundrels but hit a groove in the ice, and crashed down hard.  Rose stumbled as well, but she managed to stay upright, clutching the wall. “Doctor!” she gasped, sliding the few feet over to him. She carefully knelt beside him.

 

“M’fine.” At first, the Doctor felt nothing amiss, but then he moved his left ankle and a bolt of pain shot up his leg.  “Ah… blimey!” he blurted, wincing. 

 

“You’re  _ not _ fine! Can you get up?  We need to get you off the ice.  Do you think we need to go to Medical at Torchwood?”

 

The Doctor was quick to reassure Rose, “No, no, I’m okay, really.  I just tweaked it. Just a little twist of the old tendons. Just let me get up and skate around a bit to loosen it up.”  He grabbed Rose’s arm to steady himself, pulling himself up to kneel. He attempted to stand, but as soon as the slightest weight was put on his left ankle he yelped and stumbled, nearly pulling Rose down with him.

 

Rose gaped at him, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.  “Doctor, we need to get to Torchwood. This could be serious.”

 

The Doctor growled in pain and disappointment.  He could already feel his ankle swelling in the skate boot.  _ Of course I’m the one to ruin the perfect night.  After all, I nearly destroyed the house just trying to bake cookies.   _ With Rose’s help, he hobbled to the wall.  

 

****

Two hours and a trip to Torchwood’s medical department later, the Doctor and Rose returned to the cottage.  His badly sprained ankle was encased in a boot. “Wait there,” Rose told him as she parked the car. 

 

“Not like I can go anywhere,” he grumbled, grimacing.  He closed his eyes. Rose gazed at him, sighing. His mood had turned sullen and dark once they’d made it to the car at Hyde Park.  He had insisted on walking, despite Rose wanting him to wait so she could bring the car around. They’d gotten snappish with each other, and Rose had finally told him to quit trying to impress her. He’d gone mostly silent after that.  

 

She pulled the crutches from the car boot and returned to the Doctor, who had swung his legs out of the door.  She extended the crutches to him, and he took them, frowning.

 

“Never had to use these before.  I had a wheelchair for a bit in my fifth incarnation, but that was only because the regeneration went a bit wonky.”  He struggled to stand. Rose reached out to help him, but the Doctor glared at her as he wobbled to a standing position on his own.  

 

“Fine, do it yourself,” Rose muttered, frustrated.  He glanced at her, and she noticed his expression had softened.

 

“Sorry,” he sighed.  “I’m so sorry for ruinin’ the evening.”

 

Rose gave him a gentle smile.   _ This is all so new to him, _ she thought.   _ Gotta remember that, even if he turns into a bit of whiny toddler from the pain.   _ “You didn’t ruin anythin’.”

 

“I was tryin’ to give you one of your traditions back, and I do this!  I tried to bake the cookies, and I nearly burned the damn house down! I am rubbish at this and I’m so, so…”

 

Rose put her fingers on his lips, as she had done when he’d first divulged his Christmas tradition plan. She decided to disregard her previous vow of patience. Fiercely, she told him,  “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry! You are not rubbish, not at anythin’! We need to get inside, then I’m going to take care of you. Understood? No more  _ sorry! _ ”  Then she leaned in and kissed him firmly.  When they broke apart, he looked gobsmacked.  “Ready to go in?” 

 

“Sure,” he squeaked.  He hobbled forward as Rose followed and kept an eye out for him as he crossed the short distance to the door.  

 

****

Once they were safely inside the cottage, the Doctor’s mood, which had been quite uplifted by Rose’s enthusiastic kiss, soured at the faint scent of smoke that clung in the air.  His mood deteriorated further when he realized he couldn’t remove his jacket without Rose’s help. He glowered at the Christmas tree, and slowly made his way across the room toward it.  He stopped, staring at the plug on the floor, mentally running through the logistics of picking it up while not falling off of his crutches.

 

‘What are you doing?” Rose yelled from the kitchen.

 

“I want to plug in the tree!” he groused, fulling realizing the ridiculousness of his words.  

 

“Well, good luck with that,” she snarked.  Then, more gently, she added, “Please just sit down.  I’m gonna elevate that foot and ice it down for a bit.”  

 

With effort, the Doctor grudgingly changed directions and huffed as he flopped onto the couch, dropping the hated crutches next to him on the floor.  He groaned as the action sent another bolt of pain up his leg. Rose reappeared, a bag of ice in hand. She rearranged some pillows and helped the Doctor elevate his injured foot.  Carefully, she removed the Converse from his good foot, and the boot cast from the sore leg, hissing at the sight of the bruising when she pulled his sock back. “You don’t do anything by halves, do you?  You’re lucky you didn’t break it.” Rose placed the ice on his injury.

 

The feeling of the ice on his skin made him wriggle in his seat.  “Blimey! It tickles, Rose! I can’t remember ice ever feeling so  _ cold _ ,” he complained, frowning.  He glanced up at Rose. She pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.  Suddenly, the ridiculousness of the whole situation hit him and he burst out laughing.  After a second, Rose joined him. 

 

He moaned a bit as his ankle throbbed, and Rose’s chuckles faded as she caressed his cheek, comforting him. “I’m gettin’ us a blanket, and some hot chocolate.  The pain medication should be kickin’ soon. How about a cuddle on the couch? Some Christmas music?”

 

The Doctor sighed.  He was already feeling a bit woozy.  “Okay.” She took a step away from him, but he grabbed her hand, stopping her.  “Tell you what, Rose. As much as I love you and the attention, let’s not make  _ this _ a Christmas tradition.”

 

Rose chuckled.  “Agreed,” she murmured.  She left him to get the blanket.  

 

He felt pleasantly floaty, so he closed his eyes to ride the wave of relaxation.  The pain in his ankle was already feeling far away, like something he barely remembered.  With the discomfort out of his mind, he focused on the disappointment of yet another Christmas failure.  Of course, Rose had told him stop with the guilt, as she often did. But it was easier said than done. The ankle injury, while minor in the grand scheme of things, did throw a spanner in the works.  He’d have to deal with that for the rest of the season. He groaned, thinking of the inconvenience. “Bloody hell, this human body,” he grumbled.

 

“Yeah, they’re a bit much, aren’t they?”  

 

He startled, jostling his foot,  at the sound of Rose’s voice. He winced, then opened his eyes.  Rose had turned the lights off, and the room was illuminated by the fairy lights on the tree.  The sight of her in the soft light took his breath away, just as it had at Hyde Park. He was hit with the realization that he was a very lucky bloke, despite it all.  He took her hand. “I didn’t mean it as an insult. I’m still getting used to a body that takes so long to heal.” 

 

Rose nodded, then she kissed his hand.  “It has to be tough. We’ll get through it.  Even if you’re being rude and not ginger about it.”  She gave him a little smirk, then sat down by him. He leaned against her, helping her to spread the big blanket out.  She used the remote to turn on the stereo. Soft Christmas music played. The Doctor sighed again. “What now?”

 

“Well, that’s another thing.  I tried to make you a playlist of all your favorite songs.  Your mum gave me a list. Then I found out that about half the songs don’t exist here in Pete’s World.  Seriously! What’s the point of having all the Beatles still alive and together as a band, if they don’t have  _ Wonderful Christmastime! _ ”

 

“Well, to be fair, that  _ was _ just Paul,” Rose pointed out.

 

“Ooh, what if I wrote down the words to it and took it to Abbey Road, and…”  He paused at the sight of Rose grinning at him. “You’re laughing at me.”

 

“Well,” she drawled, imitating him, “maybe just a little.  Doctor, you do realize that anythin’ we do together, from the most excitin’ adventure to just snugglin’ on the sofa is enough for me?  And that we don’t have to establish every Christmas tradition right now? It’s only the first of many Christmases. It’ll take time, but we’ll get there.”

 

“On the slow path,” he chimed in.  “I suppose there is a certain beauty to that.”

 

“The beauty is that we’re on the slow path  _ together _ .  Forever.”

 

He murmured, “Rose Tyler, I love you,” as he leaned in to kiss her slowly and deeply.  Before they could get carried away, his foot began to ache and he had to break the kiss.  “I guess we’ll be moving a little more slowly on the path for the time being.” 

 

“We’ll manage, love. Better with two, after all. For now, let’s cuddle.”  

 

The Doctor snuggled against her, and relaxed as the music played.  Rose began to sing along with the music softly, and despite the chill of the ice pack, he felt warmed from head to toe.  “Could do without the achy ankle, but I definitely love this snuggling tradition,” he whispered. 

 

****

Over the next few days, the Doctor’s ankle improved.  It slowed him down, but he was enjoying the time he spent with Rose.   She brought home a lovely gingerbread kit, which they customized into a gingerbread TARDIS, complete with blue tinted icing.  They decided to be sure to do that again next year. They wrapped gifts together and became familiar with the new versions of the Christmas carols.  And finally, on Christmas morning, the Doctor was overcome with emotion as Jackie presented him with his own painted ornament on their tree. He put his blue ornament next to Rose’s pink one as Rose kissed him soundly on the cheek.  And every year following that, they fondly remembered the Christmas disasters of that first year together. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> There will be one, possibly two more short chapters of this story to come.


End file.
